Foochow Methodist Church

Foochow Methodist Church (GPS: 1.30905, 103.85151) is the second oldest Chinese-speaking Methodist congregation in Little India. It traces its history to December 1897, founded by etnic Foochow Chinese who were mostly rickshaw peddlars. Though they come from Foochow in China, they were Christians. Their endeavor to have a place for worship eventually lead to the establishment of the Foochow Methodist Church, with Reverend Ling Chin Mee as the first pastor of the assembly.

Between 1897 and 1937, the congregation of about one hundred members met at the shared church premises, initially at Middle Road, then at ACS building in Coleman Street, followed by at the Tamil Methodist Church in Short Street. After the many years of hardship and struggle, the Foochow Methodist Chinese in 1936 was finally able to pool their resources and bought a residential property at 90 Race Course Road, which was then converted to be their permanent premises.

During the Second World War, the Foochow Methodist Church building sustained some damage from bombing raids, necessitating renovation and rebuild after the war. Since then, the church had been able to embark on a series of expansion projects. In 1987, it bought a three-storey apartment block, which it then convert into the Christian Education Center. In 1995, another three-storey annex was constructed linking the main church building to the Christian Education Center.

In 2001, excavation work for the MRT line nearby caused some damage to the Christian Education Center, which required demolition and reconstruction. This resulted in a brand new four storey centre completed in November 2002.

Although the ministry started with a Foochow-speaking congregation, the demand for Mandarin and English speaking assemblies were met with services conducted in these two languages since the 1960's. Tamil worship services were also added in 1995. The church was successful in reaching out to the Indian foreign workers living in Little India.

Foochow Methodist Church established a new church in Toa Payoh in 1971. It was involved in establishing the House of Peace, a drug rehabilitation ministry, and supports Breakthrough Mission, a drug rehabilitation center.

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